Report: NBC to pay Paris Hilton $1 million for post-prison interview

By Christopher Rocchio, 06/21/2007

Few people garner more attention from behind bars than Paris Hilton.

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NBC has agreed to pay "as much as $1 million" for The Simple Life star's first interview when she's released from the pokey some time next week, The New York Postreported Thursday, adding Hilton has apparently accepted the offer.

The 26-year-old reality star, hotel heiress and socialite is currently being held in Los Angeles' Century Regional Detention Center and serving the remainder of her 45-day sentence that resulted from parole violations of a September 2006 drunken driving conviction. Hilton has received "almost 5,000 pieces" of mail during her three weeks in the slammer, according to The Post, which added authorities said she's been writing back to "her admirers."

According to The Post, Hilton's NBC agreement for a sit-down interview with Today co-host Meredith Vieira isn't sitting well with ABC, which had reportedly assumed that due to her mother Kathy's relationship with The View host Barbara Walters, they were a sure thing to conduct The Simple Life star's first post-pokey chat. Walters conducted a phone interview with Hilton during her first weekend in jail and described what they discussed in detail during the June 11 broadcast of The View.

A source told The Post the deal between NBC and Hilton "infuriated" ABC executives, adding that ABC had been the "front-runner" until NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker apparently made a personal appeal to Hilton's father Rick.

As part of her NBC agreement, Hilton reportedly insisted she'd only speak to Vieira -- who, somewhat ironically, had spent nine years as The View's panel moderator before leaving for NBC's early morning news program last fall -- due to "disparaging" comments Today co-host Matt Lauer has previously made about Hilton.

An NBC spokeswoman did not return The Post's call for comment while Hilton's spokesman Eliot Mintz -- who has been fired and rehired by The Simple Life star during her recent ordeal -- told The Post he "can't confirm or deny" the report.